We Deserve This
by alicehatter239
Summary: Tony Stark and Bruce Banner didn't have any idea they would depend on one another so much. High school AU.


_That's wrong, that's wrong, that's wrong… _

With a sigh, Tony ran a hand through his hair from the back of the class and shook his head at his teacher. Sure, he was a genius, but almost every damn thing the teacher was saying about molecular density was incorrect. He wanted to notify her- _God_, he wanted to inform her that she was so ridiculously wrong it was funny.

She gave him dirty looks, too. But to every one of those looks, Tony only flashed a smile. She'd asked him repeatedly to take his feet off the desk he was at to no avail, giving up rather easily in Tony's opinion.

"Mr. Stark," she called out as Tony was trying to zone her out. "Can you tell me the answers to the last three questions?"

Tony almost smiled when he heard a kid snort and mutter, "Of course he can. He's Tony fucking Stark." But no, he simply looked at his teacher and nodded, surprisingly taking his feet off the desk and leaning forward on it with one arm.

"I would," he said cockily. "But I don't wanna make you feel any more inferior to me than you've already proven yourself with most of the answers you've given for the homework we were assigned last night. So no, I won't tell you the answers to the last three questions in order to save you some embarrassment." He quirked a smile at that, noticing the amused and slightly shocked looks the other students were giving him. One boy, however, hadn't even looked up from his homework. But Tony could see that he was smiling all the same.

"Alright, I'm done with this," the teacher said sternly. "We're not even half way through first semester and all you are is a walking entity of pure, unadulterated _attitude_. Go ahead and send yourself to the principal's office." She shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose and turning back to the whiteboard.

Tony shrugged, standing and snatching up his backpack from the floor. "Whatever you want, sweetheart," he clicked his tongue and strode across the back of the room, stopping when he got to the door. "I apologize, but I must be leaving early today, everyone." He took a bow. "You all have a wonderful time without me brightening up this classroom's miserable existence." There was stifled laughter from the students and a sharp "_Now!_" from the teacher, but he was slow enough in turning to catch the glance of the brown-haired boy who had smiled at Tony's antics, but hadn't bothered to look up from the homework. Tony's smile only quirked up even more at the boy's glance.

Finally turning and walking down the hall, Tony silently wondered why he didn't know that boy's name.

**TSBB**

The thing was, Tony didn't want to go home. He didn't way to stay at school, either. If he went home, no one would be waiting there for him. Considering his dad was a neglecting, and not to mention _drunk_, father, he didn't want to have to put up with the fact that the mansion was so big and empty.

It had only been that way for a very short amount of time, though. Tony used to be able to ignore his father just as his father ignored him.

Then the plane crashed.

Howard was _supposed_ to be taking the trip with Maria. He was _supposed_ to get on that plane with her. He was _supposed _to be ready in time that morning. But since he wasn't, he ended up taking the flight after the one originally planned while Maria stuck with the earlier one.

Tony didn't understand why his mother had been taken instead of his father.

Before she died, which was only a little less than two weeks ago, she'd been the light of his life. It sounded lame even in his mind. Yes, he was a bit of a mama's boy when no one else was around. She always had some sort of music playing throughout the mansion if she felt it was too quiet. She popped in on Tony at random times when he was working in his lab. She held him when he broke down because of his frustrations with himself and with others. She was his best friend.

Howard didn't so much as at least _try_ to console Tony when he got home the day after he'd left upon hearing the news. All Howard had done was somehow successfully convince the media not to publish anything about her and not to let it leak at all. If someone was going to find out, it'd be through personal reasons. Apparently Howard didn't care for the idea of millions and millions of strangers feeling sorrow in light of Maria's death. He didn't want their pity.

Tony didn't talk about it, either. He acted like nothing happened and he was doing a pretty good job of it. He held himself together during school and that was enough. He could cry about it if he wanted when he got home. That's what he did the first few nights after her death, actually. He found it difficult to control his tears and he just wanted it to _stop_. When it did, he wondered if he'd ever cry about it again. Maybe it would build up and he'd break down during school in front of everyone who was actually unaware of the situation.

After much thought, Tony decided that he'd rather not go home right now. He'd go down to the bridge or something. The Washington Bridge was primarily where he liked to be, especially in the evening. And after getting into something near a screaming match with the principal, he needed to calm down.

With a huff, Tony threw his backpack into the back seat of his sleek, black car and then hopped in the front seat. Of course his first instinct was to play absolutely anything by ACDC or Black Sabbath on the radio, and that actually managed to cheer him up a little. Once he arrived at the bridge, he gave a small smile and looked around. Too many cars. People would think that he was going to jump if he stood by the edge like he liked to do. He'd wait until it was darker. He understood that this was New York, but he knew the right times. Right when it started getting dark, traffic would almost stop completely. There wouldn't be any cars for a good few minutes. It was actually kind of funny- that happened every single time Tony came down here.

So he waited.

**TSBB**

"Why was it you?" A whisper escaped Tony's lips as he looked over the edge of the bridge. The sun was setting. No cars. No worries about people seeing him. "Why wasn't it dad? Why'd you get taken? You were the _good_ parent." He lifted his chin from the position he had it sat on his arms and looked around cautiously before grabbing onto one of the chains and pulling himself up to the edge, standing there with his hand still wrapped around the chain. He hadn't come here to do this. Not at all. But now that he _was_ here, he was starting to see what a good idea it seemed like.

The water was so close. He could jump and he could hit it without feeling anything. "I could come with you," he said, voice cracking. "I don't even look forward to going home anymore without you there. I could come see you, wherever you are." He didn't care that tears were beginning to stream down his face for the first time since those first few days. "Dad wouldn't care and I think you know that. The only thing he'd ever need me for is to carry on Stark Industries." He paused, reaching one hand up to swipe at his eyes furiously, angry now. "I can't even listen to your music. I can't go on the second floor of the mansion because that's where your room is. I hate myself more than ever and I don't want to do this anymore." He felt his grip on the chain that was keeping him from falling loosen. "If you don't want me to do this- Or if you think I'm not supposed to jump, tell me. Tell me somehow." He closed his eyes.

One finger unhooked.

Another finger.

Another finger.

One more and he wouldn't be able to hold his weight as he leaned over.

"Stop."

Tony almost fell just from that word. But he managed to make it seem like he was unfazed, other than the fact that he repositioned one of his fingers onto the chain. "Why?" He asked, not caring that he had no idea who he was even talking to.

"Because this isn't the right thing to do," that voice came again. It was soft and low, serious sounding yet somehow shy. "You don't need to jump."

"Oh, yeah?" Tony chuckled bitterly, still not pulling himself back. More tears fell. "What do you know? I need to do this."

"She wouldn't want you to." The voice said again. Tony was sure by this point that it was a boy, but he couldn't place the voice to a face. "Whoever she is, she wouldn't want you to."

"How the hell would you know what she wants?" Tony snapped, letting his head droop for a moment.

"You were the one who just asked her to tell you if she doesn't think you should jump. You asked her to tell you somehow." The boy said. "Well, this is her telling you. Me. We're both telling you not to let go. I don't know you. I've seen you, but I've never talked to you. Maybe I should have."

Tony swallowed, opening his eyes and lifting his head. He stared at the water far below him, still wondering what it would be like to die. "I don't know if I can pull back. I don't know if I want to."

A hand came to wrest on the wrist that was holding onto the chains. "You can. I did it once, so you can."

That was what made Tony force himself to pull back. Even as the boy had to wrap an arm around his waist to hoist him up, Tony knew he had to keep living. This boy had been in the same place that Tony was right at that moment. But he'd survived. If someone else could do it, he could, too.

Once he was back on the ground, he found that he couldn't keep himself up and his legs collapsed beneath him, landing on his knees painfully. He didn't move for a moment, staring at the ground in front of him. "What were you doing here?" He asked quietly.

"I told you. I tried to do what you were just doing once. I stopped myself. I like to come back here sometimes." The boy explained. Tony blinked a few times, realizing that he still didn't know who this kid was.

"Who are-," Tony stopped once he was able to see who his savior was. "Oh. Oh, my god," he breathed. "You're the kid in my physics class."

Shaggy brown hair, warm, brown eyes, glasses perched on a sad-looking face. He was scrawny and looked like he understood what Tony was feeling. Obviously he did. But this was the kid who'd smiled at his antics in class today.

"Bruce," the boy corrected him. "Bruce Banner." He smiled weakly. "And I already know who you are, of course. Mr. Stark, the boy with some serious attitude problems." Tony let himself chuckle at the teasing joke.

"She was a little rude, wasn't she?" Tony let his back rest against the wall that he'd been standing on as he looked up at Bruce.

"She had a reason to be. But you were right." Bruce pointed out. "All her answers were wrong."

Tony's eyes widened just the slightest bit. "Am I seriously in the presence of another genius? And did that other genius just save my fucking life?"

"I wouldn't say genius…" Bruce scratched the back of his neck. "Just… smarter than the average teenager."

"Don't give me that crap. You're probably the next Einstein." Tony snorted.

"Yeah, and you're the next Elvis." Bruce quipped. "Really. I'm not as smart as you, at least. I read somewhere that you've got an IQ of 208."

"Yup." Tony nodded. "And what's yours?"

"189." Bruce tapped his head as if that gave any indication. "Told you. Not as smart."

"Still, that's a shit ton of intelligence you got trapped up in there." Tony smiled cockily.

"Alright, alright," Bruce shook his head, sitting down in front of Tony. It was starting to get kind of chilly. "I want to ask you something."

"My mom," Tony said before Bruce could go on. The other boy just blinked, then nodded. "That's who I was talking about. She died two weeks ago."

"Oh," Bruce said softly. "I'm sorry. Mine died when I was really young. I know how it feels." He played with the sleeves of his sweatshirt. He was always wearing long sleeves, Tony noticed.

Tony didn't know what to say at this point. He still felt like shit. He was tired, his head hurt, he still kind of felt like he wanted to throw himself off this bridge, and he felt sick to his stomach at the thought of going home to an empty house. Well, Howard was there, but that didn't count.

"I should get home," Tony finally said, although he was rather reluctant. "Then again, I don't know if I'm stable enough to even drive. Shit."

"I didn't come here in a car," Bruce said, scratching his arm lightly. "I could drive you home in yours, if you'd like. I'll just walk home after dropping you off. I don't live very far away."

Tony nodded before he could even think about it. "Sure. That sounds nice." He had to have Bruce help him up since he still felt like jelly that was about to puke.

Tony handed him the keys to the car and they got in, Bruce looking hesitant because of the fact that it was such a nice and expensive car. He didn't know what to do with it. What if he dented it or something?

Tony murmured to him not to worry about it, that even if it did get damaged in some way they had more than enough money to pay for the repairs.

"Hey," Tony said softly, looking out his window. "Thanks for stopping me."

Bruce sighed, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. He didn't feel like "You're welcome" was an appropriate response for this considering how huge of a thing it was. So eventually, all that came out was, "Yeah."

**TSBB**

Bruce managed to help Tony into the mansion after Tony claimed that he felt like he was going to hurl. Bruce, however, almost vomited at the sight of the mansion because _damn_ was that thing huge. It wasn't that he didn't like it, he just… God, it was a little overwhelming.

"Where's your room?" Bruce asked, voice a bit shaky. He was in someone else's house. And that someone else was Tony Stark. And his house was a fucking mansion. This was downright insane and he knew it. Bruce already had enough trouble talking to normal people, but someone as important as Tony made him feel so inferior. But then he remembered that Tony probably didn't see himself as very important if he was trying to kill himself.

"Third floor. Stairs are over there." Tony pointed across the living room. Expensive furniture and a huge flat-screen TV was placed around the room. Next to the living room was the kitchen, which was very… modern. Modern and shiny. Bruce kinda liked it.

He was a little winded when they made it up the stairs, mainly because there were so damn many and Tony was leaning on him slightly. "You should sleep well after this." Bruce noted with a chuckle. Tony pointed him in the direction of his room, three doors down the hall on their left. Tony's room really wasn't all that fancy compared to the rest of the house. A balcony on the long wall on the other side of the room from the door, a couple lab tables with some machine parts and laptops sitting on them, a big bed near the balcony, a flat-screen TV facing the bed, and a sofa also situated in a way that you could watch the TV from it. A game station was hooked up to the TV. The bathroom was located on the right side, next to Tony's huge walk-in closet.

Once Tony was sitting on his bed, he let himself collapse with his head on a pillow, an arm holding his stomach. "Sorry to make you lug my ass up here." He muttered, smiling a little. Bruce just stood there, albeit a little awkwardly.

"It was no problem," he shrugged. His eyes found a clock and he looked at the time, swallowing. If he didn't get home soon his dad wouldn't be happy. And if he wasn't happy, well… "Hey, um… I'm really happy you're okay. Honestly. But if I don't get going now, I'll be in a crap load of trouble." He looked apologetically at Tony.

There was that sick feeling in Tony's stomach again. The thought of being here alone at night again made him upset. He hated it.

"Oh… Okay," Tony nodded, kicking off his shoes and throwing them to the floor. "Thanks again. A lot." He pulled the blankets up to his neck, kicking off his pants underneath there as well but leaving his boxers on. "I'll see you at school on Monday." He wasn't even sure of that statement. What if something like tonight happened again and Bruce wasn't there to stop him?

"Yeah. Okay." Bruce ran a hand through his hair, sighing as he turned to walk out the bedroom door. He was halfway down the hall when he stopped, wondering what the hell he was doing. He couldn't just leave the damn guy after saving his fucking life. What if he jumped off the balcony? What if he swallowed a bunch of pills?

"Asshole," Bruce muttered, turning around and shuffling back into Tony's room silently. He was sure that Tony was already cashed out by the way he was breathing. Bruce hesitated another moment, looking around before heading to the couch and taking the blanket off the side of it, letting it fall open before he carefully lay down on the couch. "He's gonna kill me," Bruce said, referring to his own father. He could only hope that Brian Banner was drunk and passed out cold so he wouldn't notice Bruce not being home.

All warmed up with the thick blanket over him, Bruce fell asleep surprisingly easily, unaware that Tony knew he was staying.

**TSBB**

Upon waking up, Tony wasn't shocked to see Bruce still curled up on the couch. Tony had been able to fall asleep almost effortlessly with another person in the room, especially the one who'd saved him. No nightmares, no waking up in the middle of the night, no tossing and turning. He was well-rested for once. Even before his mom died, he didn't get much sleep because he tended to stay up incredibly late working on projects. His newest and by far most difficult project was an AI he was planning on calling JARVIS.

He didn't bother the sleeping boy on the couch. Rather, he walked downstairs to get a granola bar (Tony never ate much unless someone else cooked for him) and some water, not surprised to see his father passed out drunk on the sofa in the living room. The only thing unusual about that was that he was in the living room and not in his lab. Howard normally stayed in his lab for most of the week, unless he was going out for press or something of the like. But Tony shrugged it off, shaking his head as he ascended the stairs back to his room.

He cracked a smile at the sight of Bruce- The kid was pretty damn cute. Glasses and all. Without his glasses on and his eyes closed in sleep, Bruce looked… rather innocent. At the bridge, Tony could see a ragged, sorrow quality about him. He looked like he'd been through a shit ton. Brow furrowed and head tilted in curiosity, Tony wandered over to the boy. The blanket didn't quite come up to his neck and his T-shirt was loosed up some, the sweatshirt he was wearing also pushed down a little, leaving his neck and collarbone visible.

Tony was horrified with what he saw. Purple and blue splotches near where his shoulders met his neck, some of them yellowing with age- they were prominent enough now that Tony could tell that someone didn't handle Bruce very gently. He had a scar right below his collarbone as well, something that looked like a knife wound. Not from stabbing, just from slicing. Who the hell could have done something like this to a kid like Bruce?

Tony was snapped out of his line of thought when Bruce stirred, though, and he quickly turned around and walked to one of the two lab tables he had in his room. "Morning, Bruce!" He called when he was sure the boy was awake and sitting up.

"Uh… G'morning." Bruce mumbled sleepily. He blinked and tried to banish the sleep from his eyes, eventually putting his glasses back on his face. "How are you… How are you feeling?"

Tony paused, taking a moment to think about that. He didn't turn towards Bruce. How _was_ he feeling? "I don't know… A lot better in comparison to last night. I still could use a good pick-me-up of some sort." He chuckled. He heard rustling as Bruce repositioned his clothes, and Tony swallowed. He wanted to ask, but he'd just met the kid yesterday. It was too personal. It might trigger something.

"I'm sure you'll be fine," Bruce said. Tony finally turned around, taking a bite of his granola bar as he leaned on the table.

"I know." He nodded slowly. "I'll do better." He smiled and leaned his head back, cracking his neck. "What are you gonna do now?"

"I have to get home," Bruce stood. "I know I said I was going last night and I'm sorry I stayed. That was rude."

"I'm glad you did, though," Tony shrugged. "It made it easier for me to sleep. I like company. As long as the company's nice." He grinned, flashing his teeth.

"Oh… Okay, then. You're welcome." Bruce ducked his head slightly. "But I really do have to get going. I can't keep my dad wondering where I am." He reluctantly pulled on his shoes.

"Alright," Tony replied. "If you want, I can give you a ride home."

"No, no!" Bruce said all too quickly. Tony jumped, raising his eyebrows. "Er," Bruce stuttered, trying to calm himself. "No, that's fine. I can walk. It's not very far at all anyway. Thanks for the offer, though."

Bruce allowed Tony to walk him to the front door, telling him not to pay any attention to his father on the sofa. It was a normal thing, he told him.

"Don't do anything bad, okay?" Bruce called to the boy as he walked out. "I'll see you on Monday."

"Okay." Tony yelled back, nodding even though Bruce couldn't see him. He was aware that he probably wouldn't sleep as well tonight or on Sunday night, or on any night that Bruce wasn't here. Or maybe he was overthinking this. He could sleep, right? He could manage to get a good night's rest without anyone there.

Hah, sure.

**TSBB**

Monday eventually rolled around, and Tony was able to drag himself out of bed to go to school. Not without coffee, though. He'd gotten quite possibly two hours of sleep that night. Saturday night he got three or so.

His second hour was physics, and he was actually kind of happy about that since Bruce was in that class. He always arrived before the brunette, so when he walked in (much to the displeasure of his teacher) and kicked his feet up on the table he sat at in the back as usual, he grinned when Bruce showed up. He snapped his fingers to catch the boy's attention, and then pointed at the empty seat next to him. "Park it."

"Maybe I don't want to sit here," Bruce quipped as he sat down next to Tony, dropping his books on the table. "Did you ever think of that possibility?"

"I thought about it too many times to count." Tony winked. "If you don't wanna sit here, that's fine, go sit where you normally do. I only want you here to make me look good." He teased, noticing the slight blush that crept up onto Bruce's cheeks.

"Shouldn't it be the other way around? The son of the billionaire making the dirt-poor-kid look good?" Bruce questioned with a raised eyebrow as he tried to will away the blush.

"It could work either way. I think we complement each other very nicely."

"You look tired."

"I _am_ tired."

"And yet you still manage to be a sarcastic asshole."

"Hey!" Tony said defensively, but smiled in amusement. "You're one to talk."

"Point taken," Bruce sat back with his arms across his chest. Another hoodie covered them as usual. His collarbone wasn't visible.

"Mr. Banner, if you could please do me the pleasure of keeping that nuisance under control for the extension of the class period, I would be eternally grateful." Both Tony and Bruce looked up at the sound of their teacher's voice.

"I'll do my best," Bruce quirked a smile and nodded.

"It's not my fault she's a dumbfuck." Tony muttered under his breath. Bruce elbowed him lightly.

"Just because we're smarter than everyone in this damn class doesn't mean you can be rude." He hissed. Tony actually shut up at that, considering he respected Bruce already and he knew he was right. That didn't stop him from making a couple sarcastic quips throughout the hour.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Tony nudged Bruce on the way out of the class. "I'm not very hard to take care of."

"On Friday you were suicidal," Bruce deadpanned, "and now you're perfectly fine. What the hell is up with that?"

"Well, you see," Tony began. "Us humans have these things called emotions. They change a lot. People and events effect how they change and when we're around people we like we tend to feel happy-"

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Bruce waved a hand to get him to shut up. "It's good that you're happy."

"It's not like I'm not upset anymore," Tony admitted. "Yeah. I feel shitty basically all the time. Even right now. But I feel a lot less shitty with you around!" He grinned.

Bruce didn't say anything for a moment. No one had ever told him that they liked him, let alone that he made them feel happier. Three days of knowing Tony Stark and already he was having an impact on his life? No way.

"I… That's great." Bruce nodded again, fingers tightening around his books. "You shouldn't rely on me for happiness, though. Never rely on anyone else for that. You know where that gets you."

"What?" Tony looked genuinely confused by Bruce's statement, but not in a, "I don't understand" kind of way. It was more like a, "Why would you say something like that?" sort of look.

"I'm just saying," the other boy continued. "You shouldn't depend on other people for happiness. All that ends up doing is fucking you up even more."

"I…" Tony blinked a few times, brow furrowed. "I guess I won't, then. But that doesn't mean I can't not feel happy with you around."

"And that's fine."

**TSBB**

They stuck by each other. They always did from then on. But even after three _months_ of knowing Bruce, the scrawny boy had still neglected to inform Tony of where all his bruises came from. The brunette wouldn't let Tony come over to his house, so he went over to Tony's. Hell, they'd even met another person who they were proud to call their friend. Aside from that, Bruce was well aware of what Tony's father was like by now. The man never paid any god damn attention to his son, even when Tony _screamed_ in his face that he'd tried to kill himself. When no reaction came from Howard, Bruce had spent the next hour holding a sobbing Tony.

And Tony did the same for Bruce when he showed up at his house after the fourth month of being a huge part of his life. He was battered and bruised and desperate-looking, his lip bleeding and a large purple splotch on his cheekbone. Tony immediately ushered him in, panic rising in his chest.

"What happened?" Tony asked while he brought Bruce an ice pack wrapped in a paper towel. He knelt down in front of where Bruce sat on the sofa in the living room and reached up to press the ice pack to Bruce's cheek gently, the boy not so much as flinching. "Who did this to you?"

"I…" Bruce only managed that much before he was crying, squeezing his eyes shut and balling his fists in the blanket Tony draped over his shoulders.

"Bruce, come on," Tony urged. He removed the ice for a few seconds and then put it back on. "You gotta get a hold of yourself and tell me who did this so I can kick their ass."

As the smaller boy tried to pull himself together, Tony pulled himself onto the sofa next to Bruce and put an arm around his shoulders, attempting to offer some comfort as he held the ice pack to Bruce's cheek.

"I- I…" Bruce made an effort to speak again, having stopped most of his sobs. "I didn't mean to piss him off. All I did was ask if I could see you this weekend and he started screaming at me and telling me that I was spending too much time around you." Tony blinked, piecing together what Bruce was saying. His stomach started to turn uneasy. "He told me that I was probably fucking you and- and that he wouldn't stand for having a fag for a son when none of that is even _true_. I mean, I guess the second part is, but we both know the first part isn't. He wouldn't stop hitting me and I kept telling him to stop but he just kept going until I managed to hit him over the head with a lamp-," he lost it again, putting his face in his hands as he wept.

Tony knew that Bruce identified as being bisexual, and Bruce knew that Tony did as well. But what Tony was pretty sure Bruce didn't know was that he'd developed a bit of a head-over-heels attachment towards him. He'd never liked someone so much in his entire fucking life- Not even Pepper, whom he'd dated in tenth grade. Tony hated seeing Bruce like this more than anything. It killed him and he just wanted to make all the boy's troubles disappear. But most of all, he was angry with Brian Banner. He was angry that Bruce hadn't told him it was his own father doing these things to him.

"He's not dead, is he?" Bruce shook his head at Tony's question. "He's just uncon- unconscious."

"Okay." Tony watched Bruce. He moved his hand down to his back to rub it, attempting to soothe him somehow. It seemed to work, because eventually Bruce was silent and leaning into the touch.

"You didn't call the cops." Tony stated. Bruce shook his head again.

"No, I didn't. I wasn't thinking. My first instinct was to come here." Tony continued the slow circles he was making on the other boy's back. "If I call the cops, I know they'll believe me when I say that he's abusive and shit. That's the problem. If they arrest him and he gets sent to prison, I won't have anywhere to live. I'll be sent to a home or something."

"Isn't that better than living with that?" Tony gestured to the bruises, lips pressed into a thin line.

"I don't know. I'm so familiar with my situation at home right now that it'd feel too weird to leave it." Bruce winced at a particularly sore spot on his back that Tony dug into. He'd started actually massaging his back in order to try and work some of the tension out. When Tony pulled away from that spot, Bruce shook his head. "No, no. You're fine. Keep doing what you were doing."

Tony resumed his hand motions, Bruce being the one to hold the ice pack to his face now. The darker-haired boy dug his thumbs into Bruce's shoulder blades, a stern expression on his face. The out of context image of this would have probably looked a bit strange.

"Well," Tony sighed. "I would offer to take you in. And I would love to have you here. But I have a feeling my dad would think otherwise if he even bothers to acknowledge my existence."

"I understand," Bruce responded quietly. "And it's alright. I'll figure something out."

"_We_ will," Tony corrected. "You're not doing this alone, Bruce. I can promise you that." He stopped his hand movements for a moment, resting them on Bruce's shoulder blades.

"…Thank you." Bruce nodded.

"I want you to spend the night here, though. Tonight, at least." Tony insisted.

"Okay. Oh," Bruce looked at Tony. "Has Taylor called you at all? She still isn't talking to me."

"Seriously? She lives right across from you." Tony rolled his eyes. "She needs to get over it. All I did was tell her the characters in her story seemed a little cliché."

"You know she gets really offended way too easily." Bruce arched his back up into Tony's hands when they started moving again.

The girl they were referring to, Taylor, was the aforementioned friend. She was a girl in their grade who had a severe case of ADD and was quite possibly mildly bipolar. She was a strange-looking girl. Pretty as all hell, but strange. Her dirty blond hair that went down a little past her chest had neon green streaks in it, and she liked to where bright green contacts because she said they looked like Danny Phantom's eyes. She usually wore very large sweatshirts with tank tops underneath them or huge T-shirts and baggy shorts. Just to add to that, she had a swirling, black and blue tattoo that traveled up the entire length of the right side of her body, other than her neck and her face. She wasn't the most popular person in school, but Bruce and Tony didn't mind that one bit. She was incredibly funny as well, and she liked to talk about anything and everything. She was incredibly open-minded and tried not to let insults get to her. But apparently if she got criticism from a friend, her whole world came crashing down.

"I'll apologize to her," Tony muttered. "Can't have her being mad at me forever. I like her too much." He chuckled.

"I just hope she isn't doing anything to herself," Bruce said softly. They'd seen the cuts on her wrists a couple of times and they both understood. Tony had already done that quite a few times before he met Bruce and even before his mother died. Bruce had a little bit of experience with it, but he was able to stop. Taylor, however, seemed to still be dealing with it.

"I don't think so. Her parents don't work on the weekends and they keep her company so I don't think she'd have any time to do it."

"You have a point- Lower… Lower…" Bruce instructed Tony on where to move his hands, closing his eyes and letting himself relax. "Where did you learn how to do this?"

"Natural talent, baby," Tony grinned. He dug into the small of Bruce's back and he was surprised to hear a small squeak make its way from Bruce's throat. Tony swallowed. If he kept this up for much longer he wasn't sure how he would be able to appear non-flustered, because god _damn_ Bruce was adorable. Even with a bruised cheek and busted lip. "You should lie down. Come on." He removed his hands and stood up, pulling Bruce up with him.

Once they were in his room, Tony let Bruce lay down on his bed instead of the couch. "Keep the ice against your cheek and move it to your lip every now and then." He sat down on the edge of the bed at first, but decided to just pull both his legs up there and sit cross-legged next to Bruce.

"All the bruises below my neck are going away. He hasn't hit me there in a long time." Bruce informed him. Tony nodded, wincing at the thought of Bruce's father doing this to him.

"What about this?" Tony reached over, pulling down on the collar of Bruce's shirt enough to reveal the scar that he'd noticed during his first night here. He traced a finger over it gently, waiting for Bruce to respond.

"That's from ninth grade," Bruce said. "I tried to get him to look at me so I could tell him something and he blew up and accidentally slashed me with the knife in his hand." Bruce held back the shivers that Tony's touch caused, instinctually biting his tongue.

Tony only continued brushing his finger over the scar. "He's a monster," he said softly. "I don't know how you put up with it. I would've offed myself a long time ago if I lived like that."

"Yeah, but I broke, remember? I did try to kill myself." Bruce croaked. "I don't know why I didn't do it."

"As cheesy as it sounds, maybe it was so you could stay and help me." Tony smiled, chuckling lightly.

Bruce kept his eyes on Tony's face, lips turning up in a half-smile as well. "That's a nice way of looking at it. I like it."

There was something about this situation that made Tony feel all funny. Probably because Bruce was in a lot of trouble and he was hurt, but at the same time, Tony was quite possibly falling even harder for him. He felt guilty for wanting to kiss Bruce all better. He felt guilty for wanting to keep him from finding someone better than Tony himself. He just felt guilty.

But even with all that guilt, Tony still managed to do his best to make Bruce happy. Although Tony had never actually been in a relationship with anyone but Pepper before, he _knew_ he could make Bruce happy, relationship or not.

He liked that Bruce knew practically everything there was to know about him already. The one thing that Tony had been terrified to tell him, though, was that he used to be a bit of a… well, a whore. He would sleep with any of the girls who threw themselves at him, and he would have slept with a guy if any of them had offered. But over the course of the summer, Tony had… Mellowed out. Shit happened, he got a little awkward, rumors were spread, and he refused to do anything for anyone anymore.

Bruce understood. He didn't judge Tony for that. _That _surprised him. He had expected Bruce to be disgusted and leave him, but quite the opposite happened.

"I'm tired," Bruce murmured. "Can I take this off for a while so I can sleep?" He gestured to the ice pack.

"Yeah," Tony leaned over and took it from him, setting it on the other side of the bed. He yanked the covers up over Bruce. "I'll sleep on the couch, then-"

"You don't have to." Bruce mumbled and closed his eyes. "One of us always sleeps on the couch. Change it up a little. We can both sleep in here. It's not like we're fucking." He chuckled tiredly.

Tony blinked, face slightly red. But he forced a smile to hide the embarrassment, taking off his jeans and leaving his boxers on just as Bruce was doing under the covers. He slipped under the covers as well, trying to keep a comfortable distance away from Bruce so the other boy wouldn't get weirded out.

"We'll figure everything out soon," Tony assured him, reaching over to take the glasses off of Bruce's face. "Okay?"

"Mmhmm…" Bruce sighed, turning to face Tony and burying his head in the pillow, already half asleep. Tony took in the details of his face until he was certain the other boy was asleep. When he knew that he was, Tony allowed himself to run his fingers through the shaggy brown curls, wanting to be closer but knowing it was best to stay where he was.

He played around with Bruce's hair very gently for a moment longer before letting his hand drop, bringing it to his chest again.

What the hell were they going to do?

**TSBB**

Tony awoke to feel a slight pressure against his chest and something tugging on his shirt. His first thought was to simply ignore it and go back to sleep, but then he cracked open an eye.

Bruce?

The boy had his forehead pressed against Tony's chest since the dark-haired boy was turned on his side, and Bruce also had his hands balled in Tony's shirt, keeping him close.

Tony actually chuckled slightly. He let himself keep an arm around Bruce's back, rubbing it again gently so he wouldn't wake him. This was getting out of hand- Tony would explode before he was able to do anything else.

"I can move if you want me to." Tony jumped at the sound of Bruce's quiet voice, eyes widening and his heart skipping a beat. He took a shaky breath.

"No- No, it's fine. You can stay there." He paused. "Please." His felt Bruce's hold tighten on his shirt, the other boy allowing himself to move closer until he was as close as he could manage.

"Tony?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you like Taylor?"

"Of course I like Taylor. Why wouldn't I like her?"

"No, I mean… God, I feel like such a little kid when I say this- Do you _like_ her? In that way?"

Tony blinked, stalling his movements on Bruce's back to process his question.

"Did you really just ask me that?" Tony furrowed his brow, honestly confused on how Bruce would think that he had a thing for Taylor. "Bruce. I kissed _you_ on the cheek last month for lending me the book I wanted. I tell _you_ everything. I trust _you_ with everything. I gave _you_ a freaking massage last night. And now I'm cuddling with _you_ in my bed. Do you really think that I like Taylor as more than a friend?"

Bruce was quiet for the time being, his hold on Tony's shirt loosening so he could slip his arm around Tony's waist.

"It's not just a stupid crush that you have on me?" Bruce finally spoke, forehead still pressed against Tony's chest.

"We're almost 18." Tony stated. "I think we're old enough to know when something is a silly crush or something more than that. Something a _lot_ more than that." He felt his face heat up when Bruce's fingers fiddled with the back of his shirt, skin brushing over skin. He knew Bruce's face was just as red as his.

"I don't know whether I should thank you for feeling this way about me or for making such a comfortable sleeping partner." Bruce gave a nervous chuckle.

"You could kiss me," Tony suggested. "That'd be much better than gratitude."

Bruce didn't know that he had the guts to push himself up, Tony rolling over onto his back to let Bruce hover over him. The next thing Tony knew, he had a face full of Bruce, lips colliding gently. They could both feel the relief that flooded through the other's bodies, melting into the contact of each other. Tony could barely move his arms past Bruce's waist since he felt so god damn light and his muscles had turned to jelly.

"And you said you preferred girls," Tony chuckled against his lips.

"I'd say I prefer Tony Starks." The curly-haired boy responded, lips trailing down Tony's jaw before he pulled away to see him just the slightest bit flushed. "You're enjoying this maybe a little bit too much, aren't you?"

"Oh, shush. Your face is just as red as mine." Tony grinned, running a hand up and down Bruce's side. He watched as Bruce's eyebrows knit together in concentration, then asked what was wrong when they shot up.

"I'm going to be 18 in a _week_," Bruce's lips quirked upward in an astonished smile.

"Yeah, so you're older, don't rub it- _Oh._" Tony suddenly grinned, letting out a breathless laugh.

"I'm going to be a legal adult. I can move out in a fucking _week_, Tony." Bruce was full-on grinning just as Tony was now. "He can't do anything about it. I don't need to go to a home. I don't need to get adopted or- Oh, my god. This is great. This is so, _so_ great. Why the hell didn't we think about that before?"

"Maybe kissing me was the answer," Tony allowed himself to crack a joke before he was serious again. "But where are you gonna go?"

"I…" Bruce's smile fell. "I don't know. I don't have enough money to really afford a place. My job isn't the greatest."

Tony thought as hard as he could for an answer to their new problem. "I know I said my dad would say no to you staying here, but I could be wrong."

"You'd really ask him for me? Maybe I could get his attention if he won't listen to you." Bruce suggested, swinging his leg over so he was straddling Tony since he was starting to get uncomfortable with how he was positioned. He let himself flop down on top of Tony, knowing that he wasn't heavy and that Tony would be perfectly fine with it now. Chin resting on Tony's chest, he smiled. "We should try."

"Definitely. And who knows? If he still refuses, maybe Taylor could take you in for a bit. Her parents are great. I doubt they'd mind. And they like us, too." He beamed.

"Alright, good. So we have a backup plan." Bruce nodded. "I like this. I only have to endure another week of this crap and then I can be living here with you or with Taylor. Oh, god, this morning is great." He hid his face in Tony's chest to conceal the grin that was actually starting to make his face sore.

"Hell yeah, it is." Tony agreed. He sifted his fingers through Bruce's hair. "Have I ever mentioned that you're freakin' adorable?"

"You could stand to mention it more," Bruce chuckled.

Although Tony would only be staying here for a year at most after he turned 18, he'd still bring Bruce along with him wherever he went and support him. He was happy to do that. But if Howard said no to this, he didn't know what he'd do.

That was why he was so happy when he was able to get his attention and receive "yes" as an answer.

"Bruce," Tony said, walking out of his father's lab the next day. He'd had Bruce come over for some time, but not long enough to upset Bruce's dad further. "He said yes."

Bruce didn't say anything. He merely leaned against the wall, a smile forming on his face as Tony put his hands on either side of his head on the wall, leaning forward to shove his nose against Bruce's neck. "He said yes." He repeated.

"God," the other breathed, resting his hands on Tony's waist. "That's… This is great. Less than a week and I'm out of there."

"I'm happy you'll be away from him." Tony murmured. "You deserve better than that place. So much better."

"I'd say I don't deserve you, but that just sounds corny. Although it is true." Bruce let his hands wander underneath Tony's shirt, simply moving up and down his back. It didn't matter to them that they had only just spilled their thoughts of each other to one another yesterday. They'd gone long enough without acting on them and Bruce wanted to use the best of his time with Tony, as did the billionaire child.

"Shush. It's the other way around. But let's not get into that." He nuzzled Bruce's collarbone, kissed it, then pulled away.

Sure, Bruce obtained another beating or two in the next week. And Tony was there to help him every time with ice packs and massages and a nice, warm bed. They called Taylor, and since she didn't answer, left her a voicemail apologizing to her and explaining what was going on at the moment.

When she called back, it was the day that Bruce became a legal adult and he was currently being straddled by Tony and smothered with kisses and light touches.

"I'm sorry I haven't been talking." She said. "I just needed some time to myself. But I got your message, and guys, I'm really happy for you. God, am I ever happy. You two need each other, that much is obvious. Thanks for keeping each other going."

There was nothing more they could have asked for.

**Gah, this monster took forever to write. I hope you all liked it, though. Read and review c:**


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